Published: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 5:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 5:41 p.m.

Lovers of vintage architecture and elegant city planning have long admired the Tampa bayfront neighborhood of Hyde Park. Its restored vintage homes and tree-lined streets create a nostalgic feeling for many visitors, even if they did not grow up in such a place.

"An address in Hyde Park is a very good address," said Stephanie Ferrell, a Tampa preservation architect and consultant. "It has been a good investment for people, as well as a stellar example of good architecture and preservation."

Author Michael Connelly is a resident. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon recently bought a house on Bayshore Boulevard, down the street from the home of Jill Kelley, a key figure in the Gen. David Petraeus scandal that has made headlines.

Hyde Park, which is a National Register historic district, is the initial stop for this occasional series celebrating Florida's places of historical and architectural interest, as seen from a real estate perspective. It is considered so attractive that television commercials are often filmed there.

Dating to the 1880s, Hyde Park's development began when railroad magnate Henry Plant built a bridge over the Hillsborough River, providing a link to downtown. Plant built his Tampa Bay Hotel north of what was to become Hyde Park, and citrus growers James Watrous and William Morrison built the first houses. Watrous and Morrison also became involved in a property line dispute that was settled by the Florida Supreme Court in 1894. Hyde Park's Morrison Grove subdivision is where many of the area's finest homes can be found.

In fact, Hyde Park, named for the Illinois hometown of settler O.H. Platt, is a group of subdivisions that were carved out by 1910. Albert Swann of Tennessee developed the "Suburb Beautiful" in earnest; Swann Avenue is named for him.

This story focuses on the prime residential area bounded by Rome Avenue on the west, Swann Avenue on the north and Bayshore Boulevard on the south and east. The Hyde Park Historic District is a larger area west of the Hillsborough River, south of Kennedy Boulevard and east of Howard Avenue (streets can run east-west or north-south; same for the avenues).

The neighborhood blends a dignified and varied housing stock of modest mansions and smaller bungalows, many of them a century old, with a classic urban plan, which gives the neighborhood a special character that most buyers sense only subconsciously. When one thinks of New Urbanism and pre-World War II architecture, this is an inspiration.

But there is a science to it. It starts with the grid and the streetscapes.

Unlike subdivisions and master-planned communities that have long, curving streets with houses that back up to lakes or nature preserves, Hyde Park's streets are laid out in the traditional grid. Each street or avenue has sidewalks on both sides, and the uniformly set-back houses, most with large front porches, back up to other houses. As a result, neighbors are in proximity and it is a short walk to other streets.

The streets are fairly narrow, but wide enough to permit street parking for residents, and are lined with curbs, not swales. A strip of land separates the street from the sidewalk, and oaks and other trees have grown over the decades to create a shady streetscape.

A key element is a second curb, quite pronounced in some cases, that delineates the sidewalks from the front yards. A step or two up from the sidewalk, a concrete walk leads to the front porch, and two or more steps lead up to the porch and the front door.

Garages are detached and at the rear of the property, and driveways may be shared. Porte cocheres provide shelter when residents must carry groceries into the house.

"There is that nice interaction with your neighbors that you sometimes don't have in some of the newer planned communities," said resident Stephen Gay, a Realtor with Smith & Associates who has rented his kitchen and back yard to Publix for the filming of a TV commercial.

"The thing about Hyde Park is they have kept it the way it was," said Tampa architect John Howey. "You have to go before the (historical) board if you want to make any changes."

The houses

Hyde Park's infrastructure serves as a frame for one of the best collections of fine old residences in the state.

Georgian and classical mansions stand alongside half-timber houses and Craftsman bungalows. Most of them have been meticulously restored after Hyde Park's midcentury decline was halted by its designation as a historic district in 1985. Well before that, residents moved out to the new postwar subdivisions and the tired neighborhood's big homes were made into apartments and rooming houses, said Ferrell. In the late 1970s, people started seeing the value in restoration. The construction of the Hyde Park Village shopping and dining area provided a boost.

"Hyde Park was not a safe neighborhood and not a place where you wanted to live back in the 1960s and '70s, but it has really come back," said Gay. "Our neighbor said that when they moved in, most of the homes had bars on their windows. But it is definitely one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city now."

Historic designation and ad valorem tax credits have inspired residents to restore the houses, said Ferrell. Many are decorated with banners from a local nonprofit that indicate they have been preserved.

One of the most noteworthy houses is a 1914 prairie-style home on South Newport Avenue that looks like it might have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Instead, its architect was the versatile M. Leo Elliott, who designed the collegiate gothic Sarasota High School in the mid-1920s. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as the Leiman House.

"This is a great neighborhood and a great house," said Camille Collier, whose husband bought the house in 2005 and restored it. "Historic home tours come by all the time. But it is a lot of work, constant upkeep. You are a caretaker, passing it on to the next owner."

<p>Lovers of vintage architecture and elegant city planning have long admired the Tampa bayfront neighborhood of Hyde Park. Its restored vintage homes and tree-lined streets create a nostalgic feeling for many visitors, even if they did not grow up in such a place.</p><p>"An address in Hyde Park is a very good address," said Stephanie Ferrell, a Tampa preservation architect and consultant. "It has been a good investment for people, as well as a stellar example of good architecture and preservation."</p><p>Author Michael Connelly is a resident. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon recently bought a house on Bayshore Boulevard, down the street from the home of Jill Kelley, a key figure in the Gen. David Petraeus scandal that has made headlines.</p><p>Hyde Park, which is a National Register historic district, is the initial stop for this occasional series celebrating Florida's places of historical and architectural interest, as seen from a real estate perspective. It is considered so attractive that television commercials are often filmed there.</p><p>Dating to the 1880s, Hyde Park's development began when railroad magnate Henry Plant built a bridge over the Hillsborough River, providing a link to downtown. Plant built his Tampa Bay Hotel north of what was to become Hyde Park, and citrus growers James Watrous and William Morrison built the first houses. Watrous and Morrison also became involved in a property line dispute that was settled by the Florida Supreme Court in 1894. Hyde Park's Morrison Grove subdivision is where many of the area's finest homes can be found.</p><p>In fact, Hyde Park, named for the Illinois hometown of settler O.H. Platt, is a group of subdivisions that were carved out by 1910. Albert Swann of Tennessee developed the "Suburb Beautiful" in earnest; Swann Avenue is named for him.</p><p>This story focuses on the prime residential area bounded by Rome Avenue on the west, Swann Avenue on the north and Bayshore Boulevard on the south and east. The Hyde Park Historic District is a larger area west of the Hillsborough River, south of Kennedy Boulevard and east of Howard Avenue (streets can run east-west or north-south; same for the avenues). </p><p>The neighborhood blends a dignified and varied housing stock of modest mansions and smaller bungalows, many of them a century old, with a classic urban plan, which gives the neighborhood a special character that most buyers sense only subconsciously. When one thinks of New Urbanism and pre-World War II architecture, this is an inspiration.</p><p>But there is a science to it. It starts with the grid and the streetscapes.</p><p>Unlike subdivisions and master-planned communities that have long, curving streets with houses that back up to lakes or nature preserves, Hyde Park's streets are laid out in the traditional grid. Each street or avenue has sidewalks on both sides, and the uniformly set-back houses, most with large front porches, back up to other houses. As a result, neighbors are in proximity and it is a short walk to other streets.</p><p>The streets are fairly narrow, but wide enough to permit street parking for residents, and are lined with curbs, not swales. A strip of land separates the street from the sidewalk, and oaks and other trees have grown over the decades to create a shady streetscape.</p><p>A key element is a second curb, quite pronounced in some cases, that delineates the sidewalks from the front yards. A step or two up from the sidewalk, a concrete walk leads to the front porch, and two or more steps lead up to the porch and the front door.</p><p>Garages are detached and at the rear of the property, and driveways may be shared. Porte cocheres provide shelter when residents must carry groceries into the house.</p><p>"There is that nice interaction with your neighbors that you sometimes don't have in some of the newer planned communities," said resident Stephen Gay, a Realtor with Smith & Associates who has rented his kitchen and back yard to Publix for the filming of a TV commercial.</p><p>"The thing about Hyde Park is they have kept it the way it was," said Tampa architect John Howey. "You have to go before the (historical) board if you want to make any changes."</p><p>The houses</p><p>Hyde Park's infrastructure serves as a frame for one of the best collections of fine old residences in the state.</p><p>Georgian and classical mansions stand alongside half-timber houses and Craftsman bungalows. Most of them have been meticulously restored after Hyde Park's midcentury decline was halted by its designation as a historic district in 1985. Well before that, residents moved out to the new postwar subdivisions and the tired neighborhood's big homes were made into apartments and rooming houses, said Ferrell. In the late 1970s, people started seeing the value in restoration. The construction of the Hyde Park Village shopping and dining area provided a boost.</p><p>"Hyde Park was not a safe neighborhood and not a place where you wanted to live back in the 1960s and '70s, but it has really come back," said Gay. "Our neighbor said that when they moved in, most of the homes had bars on their windows. But it is definitely one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city now."</p><p>Historic designation and ad valorem tax credits have inspired residents to restore the houses, said Ferrell. Many are decorated with banners from a local nonprofit that indicate they have been preserved.</p><p>One of the most noteworthy houses is a 1914 prairie-style home on South Newport Avenue that looks like it might have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Instead, its architect was the versatile M. Leo Elliott, who designed the collegiate gothic Sarasota High School in the mid-1920s. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as the Leiman House.</p><p>"This is a great neighborhood and a great house," said Camille Collier, whose husband bought the house in 2005 and restored it. "Historic home tours come by all the time. But it is a lot of work, constant upkeep. You are a caretaker, passing it on to the next owner."</p>